The Aln Valley Railway Trust (AVRT) is committed to protecting personal data and respecting the rights of our data subjects; the people whose personal data we collect and use. We value the personal information entrusted to us and we respect that trust, by complying with all relevant laws, and adopting good practice.
About This Policy
This policy applies if you are a supporter of the AVRT whether as a member, volunteer, employee, customer or donor or use any of our services, provide us with services, visit our website, email, call or write to us. In certain circumstances we may also provide additional privacy information, which will refer to this policy.
Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your information to third parties.
Who Are ‘We’?
In this policy, whenever you see the words ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, ‘AVRT’, they refer to the Aln Valley Railway Trust.
The AVRT is a Registered Charity No. 1063332 and a company limited by guarantee, Company Registration No. 3319861.
What Personal Data Do We Collect?
Your personal data (any information which identifies you, or which can be identified as relating to you personally for example, name, address, phone number, email address) will be collected and used by us. We will only collect the personal data that we need.
We may collect personal data in connection with specific activities such as volunteering, membership enquiries and applications, placing an order, donating money or items, volunteering, entering competitions, participating in events or railway research.
You can give us your personal data by filling in forms on our websites, by registering to use our websites, interacting with social media functions on our websites, entering a competition, completing a survey form, participating in oral research, being photographed, joining as a member, supporter, customer or volunteer, completing timesheet records or signing-in sheets, attending training courses, being assessed as competent to undertake duties, donating money or goods and services, or by corresponding with us (by mail, phone, email).
Personal Data Provided by You
The AVRT may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal information:
- Personal Information that you provide to us for the purpose of membership of the AVRT, or working and volunteering with the AVRT;
- Personal Information that you may provide to us for the purchase of goods and services (such as tickets for trains and events);
- Financial information (such as credit or debit card or direct debit details, bank account details, and whether donations are gift-aided);
- Your competence to undertake specific duties for the AVRT (such as competence you have been awarded by other heritage railways or third-party assessors);
- For Family Members, your relationship with other Members of the same family;
- Any other information that you choose to send to us such as enquiries through our website;
- Information about your computer and about your visits to and use of our website.
Personal Data Created by Your Involvement With Us
Your activities and involvement with us will result in personal data being created. This could include information about your competency, rostered duties, investigation into railway incidents, and details of how you’ve helped us by volunteering or being involved with our events and activities.
If you undertake railway duties, we will collect extra information about you (such as details of emergency contacts, medical status or restrictions, competency references, criminal records checks). This information will be retained for legal or contractual reasons, to protect us (including in the event of an insurance or legal claim) and for safeguarding purposes.
If you decide to donate to us then we’ll keep records of when and what you give to a particular cause (including money, items or services).
Information Collected and Used on Our Website
We do not collect identifiable personal information when you visit our website unless you choose to provide that information to us, thereby giving us permission to use that information to complete your enquiry.
We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to our newsletter, fill out a form or donate money. This may include:
- information about your computer and about your visits to and use of this website (including your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation);
- information relating to any transactions carried out between you and us on or in relation to this website, including information relating to any purchases you make of our goods or services (including name, address, postcode, and purchase history);
- information that you provide to us for the purpose of registering with us (including name and email address);
- information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our website services, email notifications and/or newsletters (including name and email address);
- any other information that you choose to send to us.
How We Update, Screen or Analyse Your Data
We periodically review records of members and volunteers to ensure your data is as accurate as possible. We may contact you to request confirmation of your records. We may search publicly available registers to confirm your contact details, such as the Royal Mail website.
We analyse the contribution made by our volunteers in order to provide aggregate level statistics to regulatory bodies (such as the Office of Rail and Road) and in support of applications to external funding bodies.
Information from Third Parties
We contract medical practitioners to confirm that you are fit to undertake your relevant railway duties. Only the medical practitioners know about your medical details – we merely record the outcome i.e. whether you have been assessed as either ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ for duty.
We may assess your competence to operate specific items of plant or to undertake specific activities in support of your railway duties. We record the outcome of these assessments and retain copies of certificates or assessments papers.
For a limited number of volunteers whose railway duties involve working with young people, we seek their approval to obtain a criminal record check. We review and securely destroy the report, and merely record that a check has been undertaken.
Children’s Personal Data
Family Membership: Children aged under 14 years of age are included on family memberships and are members of the AVRT. We collect their names and dates of birth to ensure they are appropriately supervised when participating in railway events or duties.
Junior Membership: Junior membership is available to young people between 14 and 17 years of age. Junior members under 16 years of age volunteer through the Youth Group or are directly supervised by their Guardians. Junior members between 16 and 18 years of age can volunteer without supervision of the Youth Group or Guardians.
Little Lionhearts: The Little Lionhearts is our club for children of 3 to 15 years of age. We will collect their names, addresses and dates of birth so they can participate in special events and receive birthday and Christmas cards.
Contact Details for Juniors: We use the contact details of their Guardians for junior members under 16 years of age.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We will only use your personal data on relevant lawful grounds as permitted by the General Data Protection Regulations and the Privacy of Electronic Communication Regulations.
Personal data provided to us will be used for the purpose or purposes outlined in this policy, in accordance with any preferences you express. If asked by the police, or any other regulatory or government authority investigating suspected illegal activities, we may need to provide your personal data.
Your personal data will be collected and used to help us deliver our charitable activities, safely operate our heritage railway, help us raise funds, or complete your order or request. Below are the main uses of your data which depend on the nature of our relationship with you and how you interact with our various services, websites and activities.
We will not rent, swap or sell your personal information to other organisations for them to use in their own marketing or other activities. The legal basis that we rely on for processing your data will depend on the circumstances in which it is being collected and used, but in most cases will fall into one of the following categories:
- Where the processing is necessary to carry out the performance of a contract with you, such as your purchase of tickets for an event.
- Where the processing is necessary in order for us to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, such as investigation of incidents by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, returns to HM Revenue and Customs and Companies House.
- Where it is in our legitimate interests to perform our functions, for example to administer your membership or to safely operate our railway.
- Where you have provided your consent to allow us to use your data in a certain way, such as marketing events.
Marketing Communications
We’d like to use your details to keep in touch about things that may matter to you. Your privacy is important to us, so we’ll always keep your details secure. If you choose to hear from us, we may send you information based on what is most relevant to you or things you’ve told us you like.
When you purchase items from us, such as tickets for an event or to travel on a train, you may subsequently receive mail or email information about future similar events or trains. You can also contact us to be included in any such future communications even when you haven’t purchased items from us.
We’ll only send these marketing communications to you if you agree to receive them and we will never share your information with companies outside the AVRT for inclusion in their marketing. If you agree to receive marketing information from us you can change your mind at a later date.
However, if you tell us you don’t want to receive marketing communications, then you may not hear about events or other work we do that may be of interest to you.
Membership Including Newsletters and Magazines
We use the personal data you provide as a member to service your membership. This includes sending renewal information to annual members by mail and email, sending magazines & supplements and information about our Annual General Meeting.
Most magazine content is about our work, railway preservation and ideas to help you make the most of your support of the AVRT either as a member or supporter. Our membership magazines and supplements may sometimes include competitions or ideas about how to raise money, but they are a member/supporter benefit.
You may inform the Membership Secretary at any time that you do not wish to receive our regular magazines and supplements. However, you will continue to receive regulatory notices concerning your membership such as notification of AGMs and invitations to renew your annual membership.
Railway Management and Emails
When you undertake duties as a volunteer or staff, where you have provided your email address, you will receive email communications regarding your duties including details of rostered turns, competency, rules & regulations, safety notices, and details of railway events and training courses organised by the AVRT and occasionally by third parties. These communications are essential to safely operate our railway.
Fundraising, Donations and Legacy Pledges
Where we have your permission, we may invite you to support vital conservation work by making a donation, buying a raffle ticket, getting involved in fundraising activities or leaving a gift in your will.
Occasionally, we may invite some supporters to attend special events to find out more about the ways in which donations and gifts in wills can make a difference to specific projects and to our cause. We’ll also send you updates on the impact that you make by supporting us in this way, unless you tell us not to.
If you make a donation, we’ll use any personal information you give us to record the nature and amount of your gift, claim gift aid where you’ve told us you’re eligible and thank you for your gift. If you interact or have a conversation with us, we’ll note anything relevant and store this on our systems.
If you tell us you want to fundraise to support our cause, we’ll use the personal information you give us to record your plans and contact you to support your fundraising efforts.
If you’ve told us that you’re planning to, or thinking about, leaving us a gift in your will, we’ll use the information you give us to keep a record of this – including the purpose of your gift, if you let us know this.
If we have a conversation or interaction with you (or with someone who contacts us in relation to your will, for example your solicitor), we’ll note these interactions throughout your relationship with us, as this helps to ensure your gift is directed as you wanted.
Volunteering
We need to use your personal data to manage your volunteering, from the moment you enquire to the time you decide to stop volunteering with us. This could include contacting you about a role you’ve applied for or we think you might be interested in, induction that you’ve attended, expense claims you’ve made, training you’ve attended, competency you’ve been awarded, turns you’ve booked and to recognise your contribution.
Research and Surveys
We may carry out research with our supporters, customers, staff and volunteers to get feedback on their experience with us. We may use this feedback to improve the experiences that we offer and ensure we know what is relevant and interesting to you.
If you choose to take part in research or a survey, we’ll tell you when you start what data we will collect, why and how we’ll use it. All the research we conduct is optional and you can choose not to take part. We only use this information at an aggregate level for reporting and improvements to our services and facilities.
Updating Your Data and Marketing Preferences
You can help us keep our records up to date by telling us when your contact details and other personal information changes. We want you to remain in control of your personal data. If, at any time, you want to update or amend your personal data or marketing preferences please contact us in one of the following ways, quoting the current and the new details:
Amend your AVRT Membership details:
- By email to membership ‘at’ alnvalleyrailway.co.uk
- Or write to The Membership Secretary, Aln Valley Railway, Lionheart Station, Lionheart Enterprise Park, Alnwick, NE66 2EZ
Amend your AVRT Volunteeing details:
- By email to volunteering ‘at’ alnvalleyrailway.co.uk
- Or write to The Volunteer Administrator, Aln Valley Railway, Lionheart Station, Lionheart Enterprise Park, Alnwick, NE66 2EZ
Amend your AVRT customer or marketing details:
- By email to getintouch ‘at’ alnvalleyrailway.co.uk
- Or write to Data Protection Officer, Aln Valley Railway, Lionheart Station, Lionheart Enterprise Park, Alnwick, NE66 2EZ
Personal Data Security
We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information. The personal data is stored on servers and personal computers.
Our Trustees, Officers and data processors, who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal data, are obliged to respect the confidentiality of your personal data.
We implement appropriate security to control access to your personal data, including passwords and role based mechanisms for electronic data and locked cabinets for paper records.
CCTV
Our property has Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and you may be recorded when you visit.
CCTV is used to provide security and protect both our members and visitors and our property. CCTV will be only be viewed when necessary (e.g. to detect or prevent crime) and footage is stored for set period of time after which it is recorded over. We comply with the Information Commissioner’s Office CCTV Code of Practice.
Retention Period of Data
We will only use and store your information for as long as it is required for the purposes it was collected for. How long it will be stored for depends on the information in question, what it is being used for and, sometimes, statutory legal requirements.
Disclosure
We will not share your personal information with or sell it to third-party marketers.
We may use the following third-party service providers named below to process and store your data:
- Mailchimp (The Rocket Science Group, LLC), which we use to manage email newsletter subscriber lists and send emails to our subscribers. Read their privacy policy: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/
- Paypal, Inc. We use Paypal to handle our financial / payment information. Read their privacy policy: https://www.paypal.com/en/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full
- Heritage Operations Processing (HOPS), which we use for managing our operations, including timetabling, competence assessment and management, rostering, control logging and fault management. Read their GDPR policy here: https://www.heritage-ops.org.uk/terms.php?t=g
- Hrunk, who develop and host our contact management system. Read their privacy policy: https://www.hrunk.com/privacy/
We will not share your personal information with or sell it to any other third-party unless we have your permission or the law requires us to.
Your Rights
You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you. This is known as a Subject Access Request. Provision of such information will be subject to the supply of appropriate evidence of your identity (for this purpose, we will usually accept a photocopy of your passport or photo Driving Licence plus an original copy of a utility bill showing your current address).
We may withhold such personal information to the extent permitted by law. You may instruct us not to process your personal information for marketing purposes us. In practice, you will usually either expressly agree in advance to our use of your personal information for marketing purposes, or we will provide you with an opportunity to opt-out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes.
You may request us to erase your personal data. We will comply with your request to the extent required for compliance with legal and other processes
You may request that we correct any incorrect data that we hold about you.
Requests to delete, correct or access your personal data should be sent to:
The Data Protection Officer, Lionheart Station, Lionheart Enterprise Park, Alnwick, NE66 1DW
Email: secretary ‘at’ alnvalleyrailway.co.uk
Making a Complaint
If you are not satisfied with our response to any query regarding our processing of your personal data in a way which is inconsistent with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office by telephoning 0303 1231113.
Cookies
A cookie is a small file stored on your computer or device, which enables our website to identify your computer or device as you view our website pages. Cookies allow websites to store your preferences and track how websites are used.
We may use cookies to:
- Record website usage data
- Identify whether you are signed into our website
- Test content on our website
- Store information about your preferences
- Recognise when you return to our website.
Cookies do not provide us with access to your computer. You can use your web browser’s settings to refuse cookies if you wish.
Other Websites
Our Websites contain links to other sites. We do not partner with or have special relationships with any advertising companies. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third party websites.
We encourage you to be aware when you leave our sites and to read the privacy statements of websites that collect personally identifiable information.
Changes to Our Privacy Notice
We may update this privacy policy from time-to-time by posting a new version on our website. You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes. This policy was updated on 20 January 2020
Data Controller
The Data Controller responsible in respect of the information collected on this website is the Aln Valley Railway Trust.
The Aln Valley Railway Trust is registered with the Information Commissioner. Our data protection registration number is ZA224474.
For any queries relating to data protection at the Aln Valley Railway please contact:
Company Secretary
Aln Valley Railway Trust
Lionheart Station
Lionheart Enterprise Park
Alnwick
NE66 2EZ
Email: secretary ‘at’ alnvalleyrailway.co.uk
Policy reviewed 21 April 2021